Turnabout of shattered minds
by deirie
Summary: Yet again Phoenix finds himself accepting a difficult case, but it turns out to be more personal than people would've thought. Everyone needs to be strong to be able to handle all that this case brings. Eventual Miles/Phoenix
1. phone call

AN: Ok, this is my first fic written in English (and first PW fic). So I suppose the text might be pretty simple at first. This is going to be a long and weird fic, but I'll try to make things clearer, eventually. So, eventual Miles x Phoenix, and some OCxOC. Heh, I don't usually like OCs, but...

Beta: sweetbreakdown (Thank you a lot)

Hope you enjoy!

--

_Ring._

___Ring._

_____Ring.  
_

It was eleven PM when the phone rang, waking the extremely tired Phoenix up with the Steel Samurai theme. Angrily he threw his pillow at the phone, but that didn't make the ringing stop. Phoenix had been working a lot for a couple of weeks, which had completely worn him out. He had been relieved when he realized that this night he could finally sleep well, but apparently he wasn't so lucky. He searched table next to his bed with his hand to find the phone without opening his eyes. He fought the urge to throw the phone to the wall and finally answered.

"Hello?" He didn't bother to say anything else; maybe it was just a pocket call or something so he would be able to go to sleep again.

What Phoenix didn't know was that this phone call would keep him awake for many, many more hours.

"_Nick._" A voice called him. Phoenix's eyes went wide open. He recognized that voice.

"…Al?" Phoenix sat up on his rubbing his eyes, "What is it?" Suddenly he wasn't so sleepy anymore. Something told him there was something wrong. Terribly wrong.

"_…I think I'm in trouble. I might need a lawyer._" The voice on the phone said with a slightly sad voice, which made Phoenix shiver a little. This didn't sound too good.

"Where are you?" Phoenix asked, a little afraid. It wouldn't be good if the other was in the Detention Center: it was always hard to see a client behind the walls. And this person was different.

"_Cranberry Street, 3 B 2. The police are already coming._"

The line went mute.

"Damn it." Phoenix cursed.

When Phoenix finally arrived at Cranberry Street the police were already there, busy investigating the place. He desperately tried to find that one person who he came there for and, after a while of looking around he finally saw him. He, a dark haired man with glasses, was standing next to a police car, handcuffs on his wrists, roughly held by a couple of police officers.

"Al..." Phoenix breathed out, and hurried closer.

The man lifted his gaze on Phoenix when he arrived.

"Nick…" He looked at Phoenix with sad eyes, which somehow made Phoenix's throat dry. He was at loss of words. He had never thought that this person could be accused of any crimes. He was far too kind a person to have done anything bad. Phoenix took a deep breath to collect himself and made eye contact with the police officers.

"Could I possibly talk with him for a while, in private?" He asked showing his badge at the same time. The police officers seemed to think about it for a while, then nodded and left, but stayed close by where they could have an eye on the young man. No need, Phoenix thought, this person wouldn't run. Ever.

Phoenix's eyes fell on the man before him. He sighed quietly trying to be brave in this situation. The other man respected him, and if he was nervous, what would it make his customer feel like? No, he had to smile, like Mia had told him.

Calming himself down Phoenix laid his arm on the man's shoulder and looked deep into his eyes.

"Now, Al, tell me what happened."


	2. hug

AN: So, the second chapter is up. If only I had more time to write this. I have exams coming up and ugh. xD I want to write this!

Beta: sweetbreakdow

Hope you enjoy!

--

Phoenix watched the other man with serious eyes. He seemed pretty calm, even though he was arrested and standing there with a lawyer who was likely to defend him in court. But it couldn't be that Al had done something, could it?

Al cleared his throat.

"It's Teddy… He's… dead." Al told Phoenix with a quiet voice. Phoenix recalled meeting Teddy, but he didn't actually know him. It seemed like he was a close friend of Al's, though not for many years.

"I'm sorry." Phoenix responded, squeezing Al's shoulder a little. This was going to be hard.

"As you might guess, I'm the one accused of killing him… I heard they have a lot of evidence against me, Nick." Al's calmness was slowly disappearing while he spoke. Phoenix sighed; yet again he was going to have a difficult case. But this one he just _had to_ take. He couldn't deceive Al now when he needed him the most.

"We had a fight yesterday, me and Teddy. We fought about… Mille." Phoenix remembered that name; Mille had been Al's friend for many, many years. They were still small children when they got to know each other.

"Teddy had started dating her a while ago… I didn't like that. So, yesterday, when I went to visit him, I suddenly just said some awful things to him, and he started yelling back at me. Then, after fighting a while I left… Then, today I felt bad about what I said to him, so I came here again, to apologize. But when I came inside, I saw him there, lying on his sofa. At first I thought he was asleep. But he wouldn't wake up! He- he didn't breathe! I panicked, but somehow managed to call the police… I didn't do it; I could never hurt him…" Al looked like he was going to cry. He was trembling slightly and his eyes seemed a bit wet.

"I can't believe he's… dead. He can't be! It's just… not fair…" Tears started to roll down his cheeks, but he began wiping them off, trying to hide his weakness.

"It's ok to cry…" Phoenix whispered and pulled Al close to his body hugging him gently. He whispered sweet nothings to Al's ear, trying to calm the other down.

Phoenix hadn't seen Al like this since he was a small boy. He had always been a calm and collected person who would never let anyone see him being weak. Maybe this was good for him, but what was the price? Would Al be in jail for the rest of his life? Phoenix couldn't let that happen.

Miles Edgeworth couldn't sleep that night, so he thought maybe a small walk would help him. But when he got outside and had walked for a while, he noticed that there were police officers everywhere. It seemed like something serious had happened, so he walked closer. What he didn't expect to see was Phoenix Wright hugging a man with handcuffs very affectionately. Miles felt something turn in his stomach. Why was Wright hugging this man?

Al took a deep breath as the tears finally stopped.

"I'm sorry, Nick. I didn't mean to pull you into this mess. But… you're my only hope." he whispered quietly after he had calmed himself down a little.

"Corny, huh?" he laughed a little. Phoenix noticed that his eyes had turned red.

It was then when the police officers decided to come back to them.

"Ok, time's up. From now on you two can meet at the Detention center." One of them said with a formal voice. Al nodded and turned around, and then the police officers took him to a car.

The car left after a while leaving Phoenix there with a puzzled look on his face. He stood there for a couple of minutes, not quite realizing what had just happened.

"He didn't even say goodbye." he finally stated to himself and turned around to go home.

"Wright."

A voice.

"What are you doing here?" Miles asked raising his eyebrows a little. Now that he was close, Phoenix looked pretty bad; his posture wasn't straight and he had dark circles under his eyes. Did he sleep well? Or did he sleep at all? Of course, it was already past midnight, but still it seemed a little odd to Miles.

"Edgeworth? Oh, well… I got a job?" Phoenix answered with a weird smile which made Miles a bit uncertain. There was something wrong with Wright.

"In the middle of the night? Couldn't this wait until the morning?" Miles looked at Phoenix with hard eyes wanting to hear the truth. Phoenix didn't look too comfortable; he probably had something to hide.

"My client is someone important to me, so I came here to see him before they took him away…" Phoenix's gaze fell down on the ground avoiding the piercing look Miles gave him. He scratched his neck and smiled a little.

Miles sighed. Of course the client was important; they were hugging each other quite intimately. The question was, how exactly did Wright now that man?

"Wright, go home and get some sleep." Phoenix's eyes widened a little when he managed to look at Miles. He wasn't expecting that from the other.

"You're no help to your client if you're that tired. Now, go." Miles ordered, and Phoenix obeyed. It wasn't like Phoenix wanted to stay there anyway. Al was already gone and he wouldn't be able to investigate the place just yet. And he was _terribly_ tired.

"Ok, I will… I'll see you." he mumbled, not really thinking what he was saying. He waved his hand as he walked away, heading home, where a warm bed was waiting for him


	3. flashback

But sleep never came. Phoenix tossed and turned in his bed trying to make himself comfortable, but it was all in vain. All he could think about was Al. Never in his life had he thought that one day he'd be defending him in court.

Phoenix's eyes wandered to a table where was a picture. He stood up and walked closer taking the picture in his hands. There was two boys smiling widely to the camera. They both had dark hair and looked pretty similar. They looked happy.

"Al… What in the world happened to you?" Phoenix sighed and put the picture back on the table.

Phoenix didn't sleep much that night.

Sun shone brightly through the window making Phoenix groan. Morning had come and it didn't make Phoenix too happy. It was time to work.

"This time I really can't afford to lose. Not that I ever could, but this is as important as the trial of Edgeworth!" Phoenix started to feel nervous, but soon shook his head trying to shove any doubt away.

"This isn't the time to be scared of losing." Quickly he took a shower and dressed up in the usual blue suite leaving for work. He grabbed an apple to eat for breakfast: there was no time to waste.

He went straight to Detention Center, since he really had to know more about what had really happened. He knew the basics alright, but now was the time to get some details.

"You came…" Al said with a soft voice while his expression looked as if he was surprised to see Phoenix there.

"Of course I did! Why wouldn't I? You need my help, and I'm going to give you just that." Phoenix replied with a chuckle.

"Thank you…"

They fell into a comfortable silence. Phoenix looked at the other man: he looked like he was really hiding what he was feeling. Al looked pretty calm, yet his eyes were full of sadness and sorrow. It pained Phoenix to see the other like that. He was going to win this case no matter what.

After a while Phoenix sighed softly and looked at Al with eyes that showed his compassion.

"Why don't you tell me everything. Start from the beginning and try to remember details that might be relevant." Phoenix stated, hoping that this wouldn't be too hard or take too long.

"Yeah, right… Sure. I'll try." Al said and took a deep breath.

_Al walked to the place where he could go blindfolded: Teddy's place. Usually he would be happy to go there, not quite patient enough to wait until he reached the destination. But now it was different. Al had to talk with Teddy. And this talk probably wouldn't be too friendly, he could tell. Teddy had really hurt his feelings and Al wanted to tell him just that. Maybe, just maybe he could make Teddy realize what he had done._

_Al knocked on Teddy's door and it didn't take long for it to open, showing an amused Teddy._

"_Al..?" They stared at each other for a while until Teddy finally cleared his throat._

"_I thought… Oh well, come on in." He moved from the way so that Al could get in. And he did. They walked to the living room and sat on the couch and neither of them was sure what to say to the other. They hadn't talked in a while and Teddy had thought they wouldn't in a long time. But al was here now._

"_I'm not happy with you dating Mille." Al blurted out, making even himself surprised of his words. Teddy's mouth opened slightly as he looked at Al who had a really serious look on his face._

"…_That was pretty obvious, you know." Teddy said, running a hand through his hair. _

"_I'm sorry…"_

"_You have no idea how much you hurt me! Why, just why did you have to start dating her?" Al screamed, face turning slightly red. _

"_She's my best friend… do you know how wrong it feels?" he continued staring at the man who was looking down, ashamed. Angry tears had appeared on Al's eyes while Teddy shook his head._

"_You know what? I think you're damn selfish! I date Mille now, and it's time for you to accept it." _

"_You're one damn whore." Al whispered with a cold voice that made Teddy shiver. Al stood up and left after that, making sure that the door made enough noise to show his anger. _

"And after that I went straight home to sleep. Though I couldn't sleep much…" Al finished with a sigh. Phoenix wondered if Al was really telling everything.

'_But he really seems depressed…' _he thought while looking at Al's eyes. They really were the eyes of someone who had lost someone important.

"He really was close to you, right?" Phoenix asked carefully, studying the other man's reactions. Al covered his eyes with his hands for a moment before letting them fall down.

"Yes. He really was."

---

Meanwhile Edgeworth had accepted to prosecute Al's case. He wasn't sure if he really wanted to, but he thought that maybe if he really was innocent, he could help Wright. In the end, they had seemed so close that Edgeworth had thought it would make Wright incredibly sad if he lost. And Edgeworth didn't want to see the other man like that. A smile was the thing he liked to see on Wright's face.

'_What am I thinking? If I continue thinking about Wright all the time I'll sound like a teenager in love." _

Edgeworth stopped doing whatever he had been doing. What did he just think about? No way. He was not in love. At least not with Wright!

…But then again, now that he thought about it, he had spent more time watching the other man. Edgeworth had this weird, yet warm feeling whenever he saw the smile of the defense attorney. The realization hit him hard.

He was attracted to Wright.


	4. evidence

Thank you for the two reviews I've got until now. Even if they don't say much, it makes me feel like this story is worth writing. So please, I'd like to know if you read this fic. Tell me if you like it. Tell me if you don't. I just would like to know. :'D

And I'd also like to thank my dear friend, Henna, who has been planning this story with me and helping me with the hard parts. Without her, I don't think I would get anywhere. :'D So thanks.

Oh yeah, I'm sorry if there are mistakes or something in the text...

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Phoenix stood silently looking at the room where Al had found Teddy. The place looked like a normal apartment, but now it had this doomed atmosphere. The kitchen was a mess: there was food cans everywhere on the floor. Boxes had been pulled out and emptied and there was a step ladder that had been fallen down. It seemed like someone had been looking for something desperately. Phoenix sighed, he had hoped to get a clue or and evidence that would've made it easier to prove Al's innocence. But this wasn't enough.

He eyed the autopsy he had gotten and was a bit surprised. The cause of death was an allergic reaction. Maybe it could've been an accident? But when Phoenix thought about it, it wasn't really that easy. Apparently Teddy had known about his nut allergy, so there was no way he would've eaten them. Unless someone had cheated him and got him to eat. And right now that 'someone' was Al.

Phoenix walked to the living room while trying to find something unusual there. But he couldn't see anything. At times like this he really hoped Maya was there with him. Maybe she could've found something he couldn't see. But Maya was not here right now, she was in Kurain Village, and would come back next week. Phoenix smiled a bit. He was sure that she would probably come to help him if he just asked, but he wasn't sure if he wanted to disturb her.

-----------

Gumshoe had informed Edgeworth that Wright was in the crime scene right now, and he was now hurrying there. He wanted to tell Wright some details etc. He really deserved to know. Or at least Edgeworth thought he did.

"Wright!" Edgeworth coughed when stepping inside the apartment. His voice made Phoenix turn and look at Edgeworth with a curious look.

"Edgeworth. I take it you are going to prosecute?" Phoenix let his gaze fall. If Edgeworth was prosecuting, it would be a lot harder to help Al. How much would he like the prosecutor to be some newbie or at least someone who wasn't as good as Edgeworth.

"Yes," Edgeworth replied with a steady voice, but in the inside he didn't feel that confident. Phoenix wasn't looking too well and on top of that he had this case to worry about. He wondered if the other man had slept at all last night.

"I think you want to know some things about this case, Wright." Edgeworth really wanted to make the other man go home and sleep, but he was sure it wouldn't happen even if he begged him to. Not that he would do that, it would make him look ridiculous. Phoenix looked back at Edgeworth, not sure if he _had_ heard what he had heard.

"The evidence is ruthless. It's going to be extremely hard not to let the judge to make the guilty verdict. The police found a small bag with traces of nuts. It was covered with _his_ fingerprints. And they had a fight too. There are witnesses. He has _a motive_, Wright." Edgeworth talked with a serious voice. He watched how Wright's face went from neutral to pained. A sigh ran through his lips. He didn't want to be the one to cause the other's spirit to go down. But this was important.

"Just great…" Phoenix sighed. "I guess I'll just have to work harder." He tried to smile, but it was a bit too forced to convince Edgeworth.

"Alright, time to work." Wright disappeared to the bedroom leaving a silent Edgeworth standing there with a worried look on his face.

Phoenix close the door behind him when he got in the bedroom. Somehow meeting Edgeworth was harder than usually. He was getting more nervous and it would be harder to breathe. Phoenix sighed, he should be thinking about the case, not about how he reacted near the prosecutor. The room looked tidy, nothing unusual there. He moved to the working table to look through the things: pens, some papers, a calendar… He took the calendar, hoping to find something, and turned its pages.

"Parents' meeting at 6 PM… Oh yeah, he was a teacher. I wonder how they're going to tell about his death to the children…" Phoenix sighed. It would be hard and he was happy not to be the one to tell. He looked at previous days and what surprised him was that a month ago he had been seeing Al pretty often. Then Al had been replaced with Mille's name. Phoenix wondered why. He shrugged, thinking it was just because they had been close.

"I guess I should try to go find Mil…" his thoughts were interrupted when his eye caught something that was sticking out under a pillow in Teddys bed. It was barely visible, but it attracted Phoenix's interest. He moved closer and moved the pillow.

There was a picture.

"What? This is… Oh dear", Phoenix lifted his hand to cover his mouth. This was a shock indeed. He never would have thought.

---

Mille opened her door and smiled sweetly, yet sadly to Phoenix when he went to visit her. She let him come in and offered some coffee.

"I was really hoping you would help Al. I know he wouldn't kill anyone. After all, he wants to be like you." Mille smiled while looking at the floor.

"Ever since you became a lawyer he's been talking about how he would want to help people as well. He really looks up to you, Phoenix." she whispered quietly and lifted her gaze to Phoenix. He felt a slight blush rising to his cheeks, which he tried to hide.

"Yeah, I guess he would be a better lawyer than I am… He's always been more intelligent and… more collected than I am." Phoenix nodded, smiling a little bit when thinking about Al. If he lost now, Al would never get his dream to come true. The thought made Phoenix even more determined to win.

"But enough of that. I believe you know that I'd like you to tell something that could involve to this case. I know it might be hard, it was your boyfriend after all… But I really wish you could help me." He made his voice sound more serious. To that Mille nodded and took a deep breath.

"I started dating Teddy about three weeks ago, I think. He had always been just a good friend of Al's, but then suddenly one day he came to me and said he had been looking at me for a while and had developed some feelings. I was flattered and went for a date, then another… I really liked him. But after Al got to know about it, he suddenly stopped seeing Teddy at all. They wouldn't talk and Al got this really sad expression when I mentioned about it.

It made me see that my relationship with Teddy was ruining theirs and I was ready to tell it to Teddy, and leave him. But I couldn't. Teddy was so excited every time I saw him. I just couldn't bring myself to tell him. And now… he's dead. I can't say that I loved him, but that doesn't mean I'm not sad." Mille told him and took a sip of her coffee. Phoenix thought about what he'd just heard and nodded to himself. It made sense.

"Phoenix… I'm worried about Al. He's been weird for longer than three weeks. He has sudden mood changes and it's not like him." Mille said worriedly. Phoenix burrowed his eyebrows. This was new. Maybe he should talk to Al some more. He said thanks to Mille and left. The day hadn't been too successful. He had only been able to find evidence against Al. Was this going to be another case that would had to be figured out in the courtroom? Time was running out.

---

"Nick." Al smiled softly behind the window. He seemed to be so calm about the situation that it made Phoenix want to ask how he actually managed to do that. Yes, Al was usually calm and all, but he was accused of a murder here! Phoenix sighed. He didn't want to disappoint the other man.

"Al. Has… has everything been fine lately?" Phoenix asked, not sure how to talk about the subject. Al looked a bit puzzled.

"Mille told me that you have been having mood changes. I don't remember you ever having those. Is… everything alright?"

Al let his gaze fall. This made Phoenix positive: there was really something.

"I can't explain it. Really." Al told him and left. Now it was Phoenix's time to look confused.

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Edgeworth was pulling his hair while he was sitting on his desk trying to figure this case out. Everything, just everything was against the defendant. It seemed like a case that didn't even need to be investigated further. He was definitely guilty. Or at least the evidence proved it to be that way. Edgeworth looked at the files yet again, but nothing seemed to be strange, no contradictions. He sighed, there were two witnesses and then there was Mille Nium, the victims girlfriend. The witnesses made Edgeworth groan; there was Ms. Oldbag, who had been a little too enthusiastic when Edgeworth had met her. She was just as bad as she had been before.

Then there was the other witness. Who else could it have been than Larry. Apparently Larry was working as a pizza driver at the moment, and had delivered a pizza to the apartment. And there was only one suspect.

This was not good. If Edgeworth wanted to help Wright in this one, it was not going to be easy. The only thing he could do at the moment was to leave things questionable, so that the whole thing wouldn't end too quickly. He needed to find things that were left out at the moment.

"Oh dear… Where should I start?" He growled and started looking through the files again.

-------------

Phoenix was exhausted. It didn't help much not to have slept much during the past weeks. And now there was this case to be worried about. He sat down on his bed and picked up the phone, dialing a number. He listened the phone connecting for a while. Then he heard a familiar voice.

"Hi Nick!" Mayas excited voice came from the phone. Nick smiled a bit.

"Hey Maya," he answered after a while, "I think I need your help." And then he told her everything.

"I'll be there, Nick." Maya assured.

"Just try to get some sleep before tomorrow."


	5. court

Note: I did some minor edits on the previous chapter. Not much, but...

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The next day came and court would start in 15 minutes. To Phoenix morning came too fast. He had stayed up till 4 until exhaustion made him fall asleep. Now he was standing nervously in the lobby next to Al. He tried hard not to show how nervous he actually was, but failed miserably.

"Calm down, Nick." Al laughed a little and patted his back. Maya nodded enthusiastically. She had come early in the morning to meet Nick, and she now knew all that there was to know about the case. She had been wise enough not to press them too much, as if she knew something more than she let out.

"I don't blame you if they do find me guilty." At that Nick woke up from his daze and shook his head hard. How was it possible that he was more nervous than his client? This was something he had done a lot in his life, so it wasn't going to be anything new. He shouldn't be feeling this unsure.

"Al, I promise I'll fight and fight until I have proved your innocence." Phoenix said quietly, yet with a firm voice. Al just smiled and after a while, hugged Phoenix gently. They stood there in silence until a cough made them realize how long they had been like that.

"Wright. Good luck." Edgeworth had appeared out of nowhere and was now standing there looking a bit… angry? After that Edgeworth nodded and disappeared inside the courtroom as suddenly as he had appeared. Phoenix stroked his chin while wondering why Edgeworth was being like this. He was acting a bit strange to Phoenix, and it made him wonder what would have caused that. Right now it seemed like Edgeworth was trying to help, even though he was doing it in a weird way. Phoenix didn't mind, though. Help would be very much appreciated.

"Court is now in session for the trial of Falcon Wright." The Judge announced. Edgeworth's eyes opened, what did the Judge just say? Falcon… Wright? He moved his eyes to Phoenix, and realization hit him. Falcon and Phoenix looked alike, and there was no doubt they were related. Why hadn't he noticed it before? He had read the files trough many times, how did he miss the defendants name? It didn't make any sense. Edgeworth furrowed his eyebrows slightly and wondered what could have caused such a grave mistake. Maybe it was because he had been thinking a lot… about _Wright._

His thoughts were interrupted by the Judge's voice.

"Is the prosecution ready, Mr. Edgeworth?"

"Yes, Your Honor." Edgeworth answered, even though his mind was telling otherwise. He wasn't prepared yet, but there was nothing else he could do. He would have to try to find out if this… another Wright had actually killed Ted Bear. And if he had? Edgeworth wasn't sure what to do then. But, it seemed that Wright trusted this man more than he had ever trusted another client. It sounded impossible, but the way he was looking at the defendant was… different from the other times.

Edgeworth's mind wandered yet again to the defendant's name. He couldn't bring himself to believe that he had missed such an important detail. But somehow the knowledge made him feel somewhat relieved. Falcon wasn't anything more than a relative. Edgeworth sighed deeply. But if Wright lost this case… If a guilty verdict would be announced… The fact that it _was_ a relative would make the situation even _worse_.

"Hmm… Mr. Wright, is this your brother you're defending?" the Judge was being his old self and was thinking about things that weren't important. Except the fact _was_ important to Phoenix.

"Yes, Your Honor", he answered, not quite wanting to dwell on the fact.

"Ahh! So you're like…the Wright's flying brothers!" Phoenix and Falcon both facepalmed. Didn't the judge realize that this situation wasn't the best to tell jokes? And that joke was getting really _old._

"Ahahaha! That was a good one!" Maya laughed, but soon stopped when she noticed the look Phoenix gave her.

Gumshoe was the first witness to be called to the stand so that he could explain the case. He stood there looking a bit nervous, apparently he was aware that Edgeworth was, too, trying to find this brother of Phoenix's not guilty. Edgeworth had been quite persuasive when asking him to keep his eyes more open than they had ever been when investigating the murder.

"The victim, Ted Bear died in his own apartment because of an allergic reaction, caused by nuts. He was suffocated. We found a small bag that had traces of nuts from the crime scene, and it was filled with the fingerprints of the defendant. There was also a slice of pizza, which had nuts on it." Gumshoe explained, looking at Phoenix as if waiting for him to stop him at some point with his famous "hold it".

But it never came.

Somehow Phoenix just couldn't notice anything worth questioning, even though he usually pressed everything just to find even a slightest hint of a contradiction. Phoenix stared blankly through air, not really looking at anything particular. On the other side of the room Edgeworth was getting worried.

'_Wright, what are you doing?' _He thought and waited for a while, giving the other man some more time. And it was a good thing, since Wright finally spoke.

"…Is there a possibility that the nuts could've gotten there in the pizzeria?" He asked, trying to get a hold of himself. Yes, this was a good question. Gumshoe lightened up at that, smiling widely.

"Oh, yes! I didn't think about that. I guess there is a possibility," he nodded.

"If the defense doesn't have anything else, I would like to call the next witness, who perhaps could testify about that possibility." Edgeworth wondered if he was doing the right thing, but if Wright didn't wish to ask anything else… He himself did think that there was nothing wrong with Gumshoe's testimony. They were the facts.

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot! These are pictures of the crime scene." Gumshoe suddenly shouted. Apparently he had forgotten to show it to the court. Ah, just like Gumshoe, Edgeworth thought. It seemed like it was not yet time to move to another witness. Edgeworth couldn't blame Gumshoe. In fact, Edgeworth himself was too distracted on other things to notice the mistake himself. He definitely needed to focus on the case and the moment. If he didn't pay attention, it would most definitely cost him.

The Judge accepted the pictures to the evidence. The first one showed how the victim was lying on the couch, looking like he was asleep. But everyone knew that he was dead. On a table in front of the couch was a box where the pizza had been delivered in. There was basically nothing that seemed weird. The other picture was of the kitchen that was a mess. It looked like someone had been looking for something. The fallen step ladder seemed a bit out of place, but it made it pretty clear that someone had used it to find something from higher above.

"Detective Gumshoe, do you know what it was that was being looked for in the kitchen?" Wright examined the picture while he was stroking his chin, like he usually did when he was thinking. Gumshoe shook his head.

"No, we don't. But it is possible that it was the adrenaline they were looking for. The autopsy proved that someone had put an adrenaline shot to the victim _after_ his death." Somehow Gumshoe sounded more professional than usually, and Edgeworth wondered why. Phoenix studied the autopsy report and noticed that, indeed, it mentioned about the adrenaline in the victim. Then it hit him.

"Hold it! Are you saying that… Someone tried to help him?" Suddenly the room was filled with murmurs and whispers. This made Phoenix sure that his question made people think.

"It surely seems like it… but there was no evidence on who had done that." Gumshoe grinned like he was happy. Phoenix couldn't figure out why though. Maybe Gumshoe felt like he was helpful. Actually, Phoenix thought he was.

"Hmm… This surely makes me wonder, who would do that. If Mr. Wright here _did _kill the victim, it wouldn't make sense that he was the one to help. So does this mean there was another person who had found the victim?" The Judge seemed puzzled. But he wasn't the only one thinking about that. The whole room was wondering about the same thing.

"Your Honor, I think that we're coming to a dead end in this matter. I suggest that we move to the next witness. It is possible to find clues from future testimonies." Edgeworth said out loud. He knew it wouldn't get them anywhere if they started solving the things from there. Now the only thing he could do was to try to convince the others. He turned his gaze to Wright and directed his words to him this time,

"I admit, we can not just leave this without attention, but right now there's nothing we can use; no evidence. We need to continue this trial until we find some." Wright was wearing a weird expression on his face. Edgeworth kept his eyes on him, waiting for an answer. Phoenix on the other hand was surprised of Edgeworth's interruption. Was the prosecutor trying to hide something, or was this just the way things were? Was there really nowhere to go from here concerning the adrenaline?

"I think you should trust him, Nick." Phoenix looked at Maya, who was smiling at him. What? Maya was telling him to trust Edgeworth…

"…Why?" he then asked, furrowing his eyebrows slightly. Maya shook her head and raised her hands, telling that she didn't know.

"I just have this feeling. I know you already trust him. So please, Nick. I think if this doesn't work out, the trial will continue tomorrow! I'm sure of it." Phoenix stared at Maya for a moment, trying to think what to do. But his mind had been made up from the point when Maya had opened her mouth for the first time. She was right. He needed to trust Edgeworth. They were in this together, trying to find out the truth.

"The defense has no objections."

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Alright. I must tell you that I usually hate when people write fics where there are OC:s that are siblings or lovers to the original characters. But this fic just needed it. It wouldn't be the same if Falcon was not Phoenix's brother. I can't tell you why, since I wouldn't want to give spoilers.. I needed him to be closer than just a friend.

I had so much trouble writing this, and I'm sure there are some errors or something. It seems I lost my beta, so I guess I'll continue without. I guess it wasn't a very good idea to write a first fic in English about court. :'D I think it would be hard in my own language, so why am I doing this? I dunno. But I hope I'll improve and get more comfortable writing in English.

Oh dear.. it's only going to get harder from now on... ^^;

Please leave a review. I need them to keep my own interest in this story.


	6. pizza boy Larry

_He needed to trust Edgeworth. They were in this together, trying to find out the truth._

_ "The defense has no objections."_

Larry was called to the stand. He was standing there looking just like he always had. Nothing had changed, it seemed. Phoenix shook his head slightly, he wasn't sure if this was a good thing or not. With Larry there would always be contradictions. During some cases Larry was a great help, even though he was a bit difficult to handle. Phoenix really hoped this would be one of those cases. He needed help, and he was not sure if he could make it.

But he really had to try, it was his brother he was defending! Phoenix glanced at his brother, who was looking as calm and collected like he had always been. A small smile lost its way to Phoenix's lips. He definitely needed to call to his brother at some point. It was way too long since the last talk they had. They weren't too close these days, but Phoenix loved his brother dearly. It would break him if something were to happen to his younger brother.

…Actually it was already breaking him. Phoenix wondered what he would do if he were to fail…

"Witness, please state your name and occupation." Edgeworth had studied Phoenix for a while, and decided it was time to bring the defense attorney back to the room, back to the situation they were in. To Phoenix Edgeworth's voice was sounding a bit worried, yet bored. He raised an eyebrow at the other attorney. Maybe Edgeworth was getting tired of asking the witnesses the same question over and over again. But where did that worry come from? Phoenix decided he had just imagined things. There was no reason for Edgeworth to be worried.

"I'm Larry Butz! I'm a pizza driver in the pizzeria Mamma Mia. I have this cool, red scooter. Girls love it, you know. The red color really makes them want to have a ride with me…" Larry was smiling widely. Phoenix wondered if Larry would ever find a job he would keep for a longer time. It seemed that every time Phoenix saw Larry he had a different job from the one he had had when they last met. Now that Phoenix though about it, they usually met because of a case Phoenix was working on. Maybe they should meet more often. Larry was a bit… Larry, but that didn't make him a bad person. He was just one of a kind. Phoenix made a note to himself to call Larry one day, just to talk. Maybe he could find out something that he never would have guessed. There were times when Larry said things that actually sounded wise and calculated. Maybe Larry was someone worth talking to.

…Or maybe not.

Edgeworth's voice returned Phoenix to present.

"We would like you to testify about what you witnessed." Larry waved his hands around enthusiastically, clearly happy to be there again.

"Alright!"

_I was carrying the pizza box to the client's house. I had made sure the building was right… I usually tend to get it wrong, though. When I stood in front of the door I heard pretty loud voices, like someone was shouting! _

"Did you hear the words?" Phoenix rubbed his chin. Just maybe…

"Ah, sorry man. I thought those apartments have walls made of paper, but I couldn't hear what they were saying."

'Right, I should've known it wouldn't be so easy… Too bad.' Phoenix thought and sighed. Larry took that as a cue to continue.

_I waited for a while, just in case there was something important going on… But it didn't quiet down. So I rang the bell and this man opened the door._

"What did he look like?" This time Phoenix wanted to know more details. Anything could be important and there wasn't room for mistakes. He needed to know every little thing. Anything could matter in this case. Larry looked like he was thinking really hard while he was gazing at the ceiling.

"I guess he had this dirty blond, a bit curly hair… Can't be sure though. But kinda looked like he was troubled… Had this pained expression for a while. Like me when Annie left me, I wept for days!" This seemed pretty normal. If you just had a fight with someone, you would probably be a bit emotional. Angry or sad. So it seemed Ted wasn't the one wanting to fight. Or maybe they had been fighting for such a long time that he had realized it was not making the situation any better? Who knows.

"But one thing I found a bit strange…" Larry continued sounding like he was thinking something.

"Strange? What was it?" Phoenix asked raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah! When he started talking he had this really annoyed tone. No, wait!" Larry shouted like he had just remembered something important. Everyone in the room sat up to hear what he had to say.

"…Yes?" Phoenix voiced out when Larry didn't do anything to continue.

"It wasn't that guy who was talking! It was another voice inside the apartment." Larry suddenly became overly enthusiastic. Phoenix wondered if it was because Larry himself had noticed a contradiction in his testimony before Phoenix. The thought made Phoenix chuckle. Larry was one interesting man, indeed. But then he remembered that it was not the time to laugh. He had a brother to defend.

"You didn't see the other person?" Phoenix asked and returned Larry from his fantasy world. Larry seemed a bit disappointed. Maybe he wanted to stay there. Phoenix's thoughts were that maybe Larry was there with tons of beautiful models or something. Wait, yet again he was thinking about something he shouldn't. What was wrong with him? He really didn't have time to think about irrelevant things. He needed to focus.

"Nah… Just heard him swear, I think. Then the other guy sighed a reeeeally deep sigh. And gave me the money with lots of extra. Said it was for the trouble." Phoenix was a bit jealous, even though he would never admit it. Why didn't he get any extra money from the clients? Oh yeah. He didn't really get that much money from them in the first place. Maybe it was time to change it. But he couldn't help it when the clients didn't have much money themselves and just couldn't pay. He thought it was wrong that the rich could have the best defense attorneys, while the poor could only get what they could afford. That might cost them their freedom. But he couldn't really keep doing his job for free anymore. Phoenix decided he should start demanding a bit more from now on. Though not this time. He was ready to defend his brother for free.

_Then I gave him the pizza and left… I heard him shut the door. I didn't hear anything after that. It was a great job that one. After all I met this really hot girl there, too._

"Hold it!" Phoenix suddenly shouted. Larry left his hand in a weird position when he stopped himself completely. Phoenix knew this was probably not a good idea, but he needed to know.

"…What girl?" he asked. The judge appeared to want to say something, but held his words.

"Oh, I ran onto her when I got to the floor where the apartment was."

"Who was she?" Phoenix asked quietly.

"Objection!" Edgeworth attacked after being quiet for a while, "I hardly think this woman has anything to do with the case, Your Honor." Edgeworth was secretly hoping that the Judge would let Wright ask his questions, but he had to act like a prosecutor. At least for now. Miles was disturbed by the other man on the other side of the room. How did he manage to steal his attention like this? All he had been thinking about was Wright. The spiky-haired man looked sad, yet he was hiding it really well. Edgeworth wanted to speak to the man to make sure he was okay.

"No, wait! I want to know who she is, Your Honor. She could be a witness!" Phoenix countered with a desperate voice. This was his chance, though it might be just a dead end. The Judge pondered the matter for a while and then nodded.

"Alright, Mr. Wright. Witness, please tell us more about this lady."

"She's mine, Nick! You ain't getting her!"

_But… Like I said, when I got to the right floor, she was there. When she lifted her gaze up, my heart exploded! Her eyes were gorgeous, like two stars blinking in the night sky… Hm, maybe that was because she looked like she had been crying. So I asked her if she was alright. She smiled at me and told me she was fine, and I'm sure she winked at me!_

_Then she left…_

"You didn't happen to ask her name?" Phoenix asked, though he was pretty sure his question was in vain. But apparently a miracle had happened.

"No, but I managed to get a glimpse of her name badge… I think her name was… Minnie? Ellie? Elle?" Larry rubbed his chin. "…Sorry, I can't remember… B-but her eyes were really pretty!" his own eyes were sparkling.

"..Does that help?"

The whole room sighed deeply.

"No, that doesn't help us, but thank you anyway." Phoenix shook his head in defeat. Maya smiled a little and patted the man's hand hoping to calm him. The court was ready to let Larry go, but that made Phoenix remember something, the thing he was supposed to ask in the first place.

"Your Honor, I would like to go back to the question we had earlier."

* * *

Ok, it's been such a long time since I last updated this... This chapter was almost ready for a loong time, but I didn't finish it. I'm not sure if I have enough inspiration to actually finish the story, but I hope so...  
The thing is, my documentation and plannings are so out of place that it's a bit difficult to follow the script :'D

If there are still people interested in this story, I'll do my best to finish it.


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